Consultancy

Consultancy covers all work other than surveys and is charged on a fixed quote or a daily fee rate depending on the type of work involved, it's likely duration and the degree of certainty we have over what's involved. Often we are asked to take a preliminary look at several boats before the buyer decides to go ahead with a full survey on one. I will make a reduction in survey fees if you take up this option because the preliminary inspection will cover some of the details in a full survey.

Overseeing repairs and renovations is where a surveyor will save you money. Open ended agreements between owners and yards to do whatever is necessary will invariably cost far more than expected. Where a survey identifies extensive work, the recommendations will be produced as a specification for yards to tender against. This will usually involve checking the boat after any initial dismantling and then agreeing all repairs with the yard to a standard which is appropriate to the boat and her intended use. The boat will be visited throughout the renovation to ensure this is done to specification, within budget and satisfactorily completed on time. I have done this for expatriate customers, sending them e-mails with videos and photos to keep them updated. For complex work, I will draw up a spreadsheet based project management system to ensure the budgets and timetables of various components are kept to. For straightforward jobs I can simply help you agree quotes from a yard and check the work on completion before you pay the bill.

There are many other - examples of recent work include:

• Drawing up a maintenance schedule for an ocean cruising yacht and providing advice on upgrading the vessel.
• Overseeing hull repairs to a traditional iron sailing barge in preparation for a coastal delivery voyage.
• Providing advice and a photographic record on the accurate historical restoration of a 110 year old classic sailing yacht.
• Producing a business plan to secure finance for a charter yacht business based on a prefabricated steel kit, including preparation of designs and specifications and the selection of contractors.
• Damage report for a 55' motor cruiser following a slipway accident plus follow up advice to the owner and his legal representatives.
• Assessment and advice on designs for a wooden boat builder based in Canada.
• Valuations and expert witness work for courts in case of disputes with contractors.
• Preparation and delivery of a 10m catamaran from Brighton to Poole after several years lay up.

For all this work you will have a costed, proposal at the outset showing the steps required to complete the project and the deliverables you can expect.

If you have a non-profit project which involves restoring a historic vessel or getting people afloat who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity, please get in touch and I'll do my best to help you.